Seeing each other before the Ceremony....

Here is a little history of the tradition of not seeing each other before the Ceremony:

Years ago when arranged marriages were the only way to go, the brides parent's wouldn't allow the bride to see the groom before the ceremony. That was just in case she thought he wasn't very good looking and she would run away before the wedding ceremony.

So, this kind of takes away from the need to not see each other before the Ceremony.

Here are some good reasons why to see each other before:

- the bride is a lot more relaxed after she sees her groom.

- we don't have to worry about playing hide and seek with the groom before the ceremony.

- we take all the photographs before the ceremony so the couple, family and guests all get to the reception at the same time.

- we have natural light to get great images of the bride and groom together unlike when they get married at 6 and the sun has already set after the wedding. we normally get a couple flash pictures of the couple standing in front of the church and then they get rushed off to the reception.

-I believe that people hire me for my ability to capture the bride and groom on the wedding day and we get more pictures when we have the time before the ceremony with the natural light. Where as after the ceremony when the guests as well as the wedding party, are ready to get to the reception. In those cases we get rushed, and the creativity is limited as well as the number of images captured.

- the couple gets to see each other alone for the first time, instead of in front of all the ceremony guests.

-They can say things to each other and hug like they wouldn't be able to if they saw each other for the first time at the altar.

-The groom will say things to the bride that she will never forget because it was a no pressure situation.

-They wouldn't be able to speak if they were just seeing each other for the first time at the altar.

- the groom normally has a more genuine and breathtaking "look" on his face when he doesn't have three hundred guests staring at him as you walk down the aisle.

- there is 99% less stress on everyone involved in the wedding day.

If you decide to see each other before, here is how it works:

-We keep the couple separated until they are fully dressed and ready.

-Once the bride is ready we send the groom to the front of the ceremony sight (or anywhere on the property) and have his back towards her with no one else around if you want the privacy, then when we tell him to turn around and take his first look at his beautiful bride, in her stunning dress.

-This is where the magic happens. Tears, beautiful words and relief hit the couple.

-The bride and groom are no longer nervous and he was able to see her walking down the aisle as he always dreamed.

-I take a few images from the sidelines so the couple can have some privacy. When they are ready we go photograph them privately and then start the wedding party and family pictures.

Hope this helps with the planning of your day!